Mack Jenkins saw minors as player, coach, bigs as coach

In the years leading up to Mack Jenkins' 2006 appointment as Reds minor league pitching coordinator, the organization had seen multiple coordinators and multiple directions, Baseball America wrote.

The team had also had problems developing its own pitchers, Baseball America wrote.

"When I took the job," Jenkins told Baseball America in 2011, "the No. 1 thing we had to do was to get to the bottom of this and correct the direction."

Jenkins apparently did well enough in that job to get another one, as assistant Reds pitching coach in Cincinnati, a job he still holds in 2013.

Jenkins' road to that major league job began in 1986, when he was signed by the Reds himself, as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Tampa.

As a player, Jenkins started in the rookie Gulf Coast League, moving to rookie Billings in 1987. At Billings, Jenkins went 5-3 over 12 starts, with a 3.51 ERA. He also picked up the win in the game that broke rival Salt Lake's record 29-game winning streak.

Jenkins played one more season, splitting time between single-A Charleston and single-A Cedar Rapids. Then he started his post-playing career as a coach.

By 1990, Jenkins was back at Billings, this time as pitching coach. He then moved on to serve as coach at Cedar Rapids in 1992, then Charleston and AA Chattanooga. From 2002 to 2005, Jenkins was pitching coach at AAA Louisville. Then, in 2006, Jenkins became the Reds' minor league pitching coordinator.

After all that, Jenkins then was named in January 2012 as assistant pitching coach for the Reds in Cincinnati. It was a new position for the club, so the details were still being worked out, according to MLB.com.

"I was told the position would evolve, it's never been done here before," Jenkins told MLB.com after his appointment. "I talked to (pitching coach) Bryan (Price) about some ideas like helping prepare for series and freeing him up from the tedious stuff so he can get a rapport with the new guys. I'll be the tedious guy."

• Baseball America, Jan. 18, 2011: Once A Pitching Wasteland, Reds Are Now Deep In Arms
• MLB.com, Jan. 6, 2012: Reds name Jenkins assistant pitching coach

More: The 1990 Billings Mustangs

1990 Minor League Tally  
Players/Coaches Featured:1,134
Made the Majors: 664 - 58.6%-X
Never Made Majors: 470-41.4%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 287
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 173